As many of you know, since 2007 we have co-hosted the National Elite Alpaca Auction with our partners at Virginia Alpaca Farm & Breeding Co., for the first few years at their beautiful place in Leesburg, VA. For 2010 though we have changed things up quite a bit and the event, to which we have…
Nothing gets judged quite as harshly on this farm as a white male alpaca. From the moment one of those little guys is born they are subjected to incredible scrutiny, far far more so than their female counterparts. Remember that the goal is to look at one of these guys and say “yeah, give me…
So there I was getting ready to head off to pick the boys up from their first day of school today when I get a call on my cell that instantly raised the hair on the back of my neck. “There’s a fire out here in the pasture off of the Arena!” There was indeed….
Our farm is located geographically in an area of nearly unmatched beauty. We are surrounded by almost as much wilderness as it is possible to be without feeling disconnected from the outside world altogether. Things feel balanced here. Admittedly the advent of broadband internet access and satellite TV obviously play no small part in that…
Some of the more frequently asked questions we field from other breeders and prospective alpaca owners, particularly this time of year, relate to the shearing of crias. Do we do it? If so, at what age and what are the benefits of doing so versus the downside of just leaving the tui fleece (the fleece…
So yesterday we completed a two day slog of trimming the toenails of roughly 200 animals, 2/3rds of them by yours truly. We do toenails every other month along with monthly Ivomec shots, routine vaccines, and body scoring on the entire adult herd. Though the pace is often quite blistering when we are starting out…
